To those of you that are RSS/Blog fanatics, this will interest you. I’ve known about RSS feed readers for a long while, but I usually don’t use them. There’s been a few different RSS readers that I’ve seen and up to now SharpReader has been the best I’ve seen. I say “up to now” because there’s a new player making it’s way onto the scene – FeedDemon – and it’s a one of a kind.
Continue reading FeedDemon, RSS Reader
Category Archives: GeekStuff
Rant: The Indirect Whiner
Here’s an oddity: a Rant about Geeks. More specifically about some of my would-be users. Let me preface this by saying two things: first, the majority of my users have been not only great sources of new features for my products, but they are also pretty understanding when one of my applications occasionally hiccups – the people are great to work with. Next, let me also say that at least 65% of all software problems occur between a monitor and a computer chair: I’m a firm believer that most errors in software come from users. There two things at odds? Not really. Let me explain…
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iTrip
I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while, but I initially had some issues with it to work out with it first – I didn’t want to slam a product without giving it a fair chance, particularly when it looks as good as this one did. You see, iTrip is the best possible iPod accessory design to date.
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Follow up to the Sony Z1A
It’s been a pretty busy week and a half for me! As is plain to see via my site, I’ve rediscovered my ability to program and get an application out the door. In fact, I figure it took a total of eight days for SharpMT, to go from start to finish… and then finish again, with a second beta on the same day as the first release. This is the first application I’ve worked on that has seen the light of day in a very long while, as well as the first application I’ve coded in C#. It was also the first application that I had the pleasure of coding from my couch, my train, and my Starbucks. OH! how I love this freakin’ Sony.
Continue reading Follow up to the Sony Z1A
Review: Sony Z1A Notebook
And now for the good stuff: the Sony Z1A. Granted that I’ve only had this notebook for just about two days, but I’ve already dubbed this machine as the Best Notebook that I’ve ever owned. As much as I liked the PowerBook, I had had a couple of complaints with it, even after just one day with it. Granted my biggest complaint was caused by a defective part, but even so; I had issues with it within the first twelve hours. After 48 hours with the Z1A, I still find the machine to be flawless.
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CompUSA + Sony = Apple No Longer
OK. Before the I-Told-You-So pundits get on my case, let me reaffirm right now, that everything I’ve said over the last few months about the Mac and OS-X have been and still are true. Now that I’ve said that, let me also confess that I’m now Mac-less, having turned in a PowerBook 12″ and bought a new Sony Z1A. What happened? I can explain it all.
Continue reading CompUSA + Sony = Apple No Longer
Mac Update: Episode IV?
Continuing the PowerBook Saga from last week, I am currently without a PowerBook and working off my old Sony 505VE. I have, however, made a good deal of progress over the last nine days, so let me bring all of my Mac-aware friends up to date on my pilgrimage to aluminum covered happiness.
Continue reading Mac Update: Episode IV?
Mac Update: The Saga Continues
So much for Apple offering the “Perfect End-User Experience”. I just got off of a 40 minute call with two different CSR’s at AppleCare. The reason for my call was because my PowerBook was now listed as “Case Closed, Returning to Customer” and I was curious to see how it went. For those of you that don’t remember, I had a wobble, a non-flush sitting battery, an excessive amount of heat, and a heat-related crash. When I spoke to the first CSR – his job is to report the status of computer repairs – he told me that “They tested it, but couldnt find a problem. They put the PowerBook to sleep for an hour and let it charge, but it didnt get hot. When I exclaimed, Thats not why I sent it in! and the CSR replied, Yes it was! I then requested a manager, because this needed to be escalated.
Continue reading Mac Update: The Saga Continues
T-Mobile 2.0: Now with Coverage!
To the unfortunate souls that have been following this site from the very beginning, hold onto your asses because this is going to shock your bottom clean off you: I’m currently happy with T-Mobile‘s service! To those of you that are new to site, let me explain why this is such a shock. I’ve been with T-Mobile for over two years now, when it was still known as VoiceStream, here in the northeast of the US – I had been using them up here when they were OmniPoint, but I didn’t own that account, so I can’t take credit for it. Anyway, I started this run with T-Mobile with a Nokia 8290. Coverage in those days was very spotty, particularly if you left the routes that the Interstate follow – most carriers seem to use the Interstates and use them as tower deployment routes, back filling coverage into the countryside as money allows. This is where the adventure begins.
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Kung-Log + MT = Happy Ranting Randy
For a while now I’ve been using a product called Kung-Log to write up my Rants remotely. See, MovableType (MT) – the software that I’ve been using to manage this site for a bit now – has been great for posting Rants, while online. It offers a web page that I can post the Rants to – from PC or Mac which was a new requirement for me – but that only works while I’m connected to the ‘net. For writing while offline, I’ve been using Kung-Log. Kung-Log has been allowing me to write up “Drafts” while offline, complete with inline spell checking and tag management. Ideally, Kung-Log would allow you to sync and upload changes to the server that’s running MT, but I haven’t been able to do that… until now.
Continue reading Kung-Log + MT = Happy Ranting Randy
LinkSys 802.11g
So a little while ago, I accidentally fried one of the ports on my LinkSys 4-port router. I’ve had enough static electricity in my house that I could save a but of money on my electric bill by hooking up a pair of jumper cables to my socks and moving around the house – would give new meaning to the word “wireless,” at least in the winter. By summer, the air is usually humid enough to swim through, but in the winter, if you snap your fingers in the air you could charge a 9-volt. As you can guess, I was fully charged when I touched the end of a LAN cable and *zoot* one of the 4 ports on the router decided to leave this world.
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And so it Continues…
And so my little portable heater is still warming up my life, a day at a time. Yes, thats, right I’m still a Mac user a full two weeks into my trial Switch. Don’t get me wrong, though – I’m still very reliant on my PC’s, so there’s no way I could Switch over everything; in fact I’m selling my Power Mac G4 tower right now on eBay. If I decide I need two Apple computers in my life, I’ll get a new one. As nice as it is to see some applications on both platforms, there are differences between the platforms; someone even has a “Get used to your new Mac” type book which shows you how a Mac works from a Windows user’s perspective. One thing that I have done is returned my Sony 505JL notebook back to work because I’m “mostly” done with PC notebooks… at least for the time being. I did keep my really old Celeron Sony N505VE, so I must have one small, minute, lingering doubt! And now, the details, and since this goes through a dark valley to climb to a bright peak, please read the whole thing before flaming my mailbox!
Continue reading And so it Continues…
And Now for Something Completely Different
Well, there’s been yet another change to RandyRants.com. Since I’m now using a PowerBook as my full time notebook, CityDesk was becoming less and less an option for writing my blogs. I could have typed up the Rants in TextEdit and move it over, but that seemed kind of silly. I looked at a couple of different server and client technologies and I have a new recipe for what I hope is future success (and at least stave off this “upgrade of the week” urge that I’ve had lately).
Continue reading And Now for Something Completely Different
Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes
Changes abound. First, and probably most noticeable, is that the site is up and running without any gaping downtime. In fact, I’m not sure if there’s been any downtime, since I switched to a new hosting company. See, this web site is mostly a place where I unlock excess mental baggage and speak my mind without trying to vie for someone’s attention constantly. I mean when I listen to someone else tell me a “story” I very, very rarely let my attention waver; when I talk to someone I’m constantly interrupted by “oh look, there’s a leaf on the side of the road,” which after 28 years of talking can really be annoying. Anyway, I started this site just as a lark and it’s grown into something of a Rant, Rave, Tech center, coffee-soaked satire that has held my attention for quite a while now – it will be a year of Rants soon, actually – who knew?
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S105: Unlocked!
One of the longest on going issues that people seem to e-mail me about is my experiences with the Samsung S105. Samsung, like most cellular handset manufacturers, offer most of their individual phone models in a number of different “flavors” – flavours, actually since the European arena is far more advanced in mobile services than we are – so they can offer their products to as many people as possible. Wait, wait, before I get into this, let me give you a crash course in cellular technology, as of this moment, world-wide.
Continue reading S105: Unlocked!